An empirical assessment of the Consumer Agency Model: Evidence from India and China

Abstract

This research empirically validates the Consumer Agency Model which illustrates consumer reactions to the introduction of new Western products to emerging markets. This study represents the first quantitative effort to test the framework in a comparative field study of consumer attitudes towards a franchised business in the two largest emerging markets globally, China and India. It builds on the original model with McDonald’s as the prototypical representative of the Western franchise industry. The analysis confirms existence of the Consumer Agency Model with remarkable similarity in both countries. Implications for franchise companies as they target the two investigated markets are provided.     

Commentary: Relative Presence of Business-to-Business Research in Retailing Literature

Our objective in this article is to correct the record on the contribution of the Journal of Retailing to business-to-business (B2B) research in marketing. In particular, we refute the assertion of LaPlaca and Katrichis (2009 LaPlaca, P. J. and Katrichis, J. M. 2009. Relative presence of business-to-business research in the marketing literature. Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing.,  [Google Scholar]) that the Journal of Retailing “does not regularly publish research concerning business-to-business marketing.” Our analysis of recently published (2002–2008) articles in the Journal of Retailing shows that less than 19% are devoted to B2C or C2C topics. Our comparison of the Journal of Retailing's relative emphasis on nine B2B content areas indicates parity with other marketing journals for some topics and a lesser emphasis for others. The key B2B topics of marketing strategy and channels of distribution appear relatively more frequently in the Journal of Retailing than they do in other marketing journals reviewed by LaPlaca and Katrichis (2009 LaPlaca, P. J. and Katrichis, J. M. 2009. Relative presence of business-to-business research in the marketing literature. Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing.,  [Google Scholar]). Hence, any estimate of the contribution of B2B research to marketing knowledge that dismisses the impact of the Journal of Retailing contains a downward bias.     

Using Commitments to Drive Consistency: Enhancing the Effectiveness of Cause‐related Marketing Communications

Research has consistently found that, despite a high degree of expressed concern about the environment, few individuals are willing to follow‐up this concern with behavioural actions in support of the environment, particularly when these actions require the individuals to absorb some costs. Using the theoretical framework of commitment–consistency theory, two studies were conducted in order to examine the effect of a small, active commitment to an environmental cause on consumer preference for an advertised product that supported that cause. The empirical results show strong support for the fact that persuading consumers to make an active commitment to a cause can serve as an important prerequisite for behavioural consistency (in terms of the willingness to buy a product). Further, the paper adds to the evidence on self‐perception theory as an underlying mechanism for the effectiveness of the technique. It is also found that, although commitment increases willingness to buy a product related to the cause, the effect works only when the cost associated with supporting the cause is minimal. The implications for marketing communications theory and practice are discussed.     

Interdependent self-construal in collectivist cultures: Effects on compliance in a cause-related marketing context

This study is a replication and extension of prior work on the effectiveness of cause-related marketing efforts. We show that compliance behavior across cultures can be different depending on the dominant self-construal paradigm prevalent in a given society. The original study had shown that people in independent self-construal societies (individualist countries such as the USA) are unwilling to follow up on their original commitment (to support rainforest protection) if compliance involves bearing the cost of such action (paying a higher price for a product where part of the price is donated to rainforest protection). This study, drawing on a sample of students at a mid-sized university in northern Poland, shows that commitment–consistency works in collectivist, interdependent self-construal societies in a different way: if the cause being supported is of a pro-social nature, people in such societies are willing to pay the higher product price to support it.     

The judgmental effects of strategy maps in balanced scorecard performance evaluations

We examine whether supplemental information displays affect decisions made using a common strategic performance measurement system, the balanced scorecard. A distinguishing feature of the balanced scorecard (BSC) is the number and diversity of its metrics. To effectively formulate a decision from such a complex information set, managers must view these measures within their strategic context ( [Kaplan and Norton, 1993] and [Kaplan and Norton, 1996] ). However, academic studies indicate that problems in communication and comprehension of the strategic logic underlying the scorecard hinder its implementation and use ( [Lipe and Salterio, 2000] , [Malina and Selto, 2001] , [Ittner et al., 2003a] and [Ittner et al., 2003b] ). We investigate whether a supplemental information display, in the form of a strategy map, results in performance evaluation judgments consistent with the recognition of relations between performance metrics and strategy. Strategy maps are causal diagrams depicting temporally-separate and non-linear relations between scorecard performance measures and overriding strategic objectives. As predicted, we find that performance evaluation decisions are more consistent with the achievement of strategic objectives when participants are provided with strategy maps.     

A Futuristic Research Agenda for the Field of Franchising

This brief paper summarizes the sweeping changes taking place within the North American franchising reality and extols franchising researchers to venture forth into novel arenas of investigation. In the process, it also offers commentary on two articles appearing in this issue of the Journal of Small Business Management . In general, this polemic invites researchers (1) to look beyond the North American contexts for data and original theoretical development; (2) to investigate new phenomena associated with franchising; and (3) to examine extant ontology of franchising research topics from novel perspectives. Illustrative frameworks for executing this research agenda are presented throughout.     

Setting the stage for creative new products: Investigating the idea fruition process

This article attempts to understand the idea fruition process, or the fuzzy front-end set of activities that an organization may informally engage in before it adopts a formal process for developing a new product. The authors propose that the idea fruition process consists of three sub-processes: idea creation, idea concretization, and idea commitment. They also propose and test the individual and organizational factors that influence the idea’s degrees of creativity, concretization, and commitment to further the understanding of the phenomenon and, thus, boost the creation and harnessing of worthwhile ideas in organizations. Astra Zeneca Janice Griffiths-Hemans (jaiuce.griffith-hermans@astrazeneca.com) holds a Ph.D. in business administration (marketing strategy and new product development) and a master’s in market research from the University of Georgia, an MBA in marketing from the University of Miami, and a bachelor of science degree in pure and applied chemistry from the University of the West Indies, Jamaica. Janice is currently a Senior Manager of Consumer Insights with Astra Zeneca, Wilmington, Delaware. Rajiv Grover (rgrover@terry.uga.edu) is the head of the department and holder of the Terry Chair of Marketing at the Terry College of Business, the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia. He has received several honors for his research and teaching efforts—the O’Dell award for the Best Paper in theJournal of Marketing Research and the Hugh O. Nourse Outstanding MBA Teacher Award. He has authored the bookTheory and Simulation of Market-Focused Management, published by Dry den Press. He is currently editingThe Handbook of Marketing Research: Do’s and Don’ts, which will be published by Sage Publications. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1983.     

Making the Most of B2C Wireless

Companies in Europe and the US have made little effort to explore the potential of wireless devices (mobile phones and personal digital assistants) as a communication channel with consumers. This is mainly because of their uncertainty about the wireless "killer applications" and the timing and capability of next-generation wireless technologies. This article argues that they are being too cautious and that the best way to approach the opportunities is not to find a single "killer application". Rather, companies need to identify what the authors call a "killer experience". This should be designed around customer needs (rather than an existing industry value chain), supported by a multichannel platform. It should make the most of wireless's unique time and location advantages and involve wireless-specific features. Existing technologies are already sufficiently advanced to make this possible. The article is based on research earlier this year.     

The adoption of radical manufacturing technologies and firm survival

The emergence of dramatically innovative, or radical, new manufacturing technologies can force pivotal and life‐threatening decisions for industry competitors. These technologies can represent a huge cost for adopting firms, but may also offer the chance to achieve competitive advantage through superior manufacturing. While prior research has considered a range of production process decisions (e.g., JIT, mass customization) and outcomes for end‐product technologies, little attention has been given to adoption decisions relative to core manufacturing technologies. This study examines an industry's adoption of major manufacturing technologies over several decades and demonstrates that two groups of contingencies related to adoption (e.g., timing and cumulative effects) have a significant impact on firm performance. Based on a sample of over 1,000 firms, the results provide insights into the effects of adoption timing and ‘manufacturing technology bundles’ on firm survival. We also find that adoption of manufacturing technologies prior to the inflection point of the estimated Bass diffusion curve for each technology leads to significant reduction in firm mortality. Thus, we are able to demonstrate the ability of the Bass model to predict the survival outcomes of firms facing manufacturing technology adoption decisions. The strategic implications of these pivotal decisions are considered. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.